DVD Review: ‘Peanuts by Schulz: Go Team Go!’

The second Peanuts by Schulz DVD set is subtitled Go Team Go! and includes 19 short episodes totaling over two hours. This Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s DVD set comes from brand-new animated cable television series, based on some of the most endearing Peanuts themes plus sports like baseball, fishing, football, ice skating and tennis plus some kite flying.

This new series was produced by French animation studio Normaal in association with Peanuts Worldwide LLC. They reportedly produced hundreds of short and quick episodes so look for more DVD releases including the upcoming Peanuts by Schulz: School Days DVD set on August 29, 2017.

Great themes of team work, friendship and sportsmanship plus funny sequences with Charlie Brown, voiced by Aiden Lewandowski (upcoming Hey Arnold: The Jungle Movie), Snoopy and Woodstock make this set very entertaining. Other favorite characters include Linus, voiced by Jude Perry, and Peppermint Patty, well voiced by Lily Zager.

Linus’ sister Lucy, voiced by Bella Stine, is over used in this new TV series and really isn’t that funny, endearing or interesting. She’s functional in the stories though, which still have creativity and each chapter’s self-explanatory title describes what’s happening to the viewer. Taylor Autumn Bertman voices Charlie Brown’s sister Sally and Daniel Thornton voices Schroeder.

On the first disc, the “Tennis” episode introduces some different characters into the mix while “Good Sports” has a lot of teaching and “Doing It Right” lets Linus express his feelings about his sister. Both provide some strong emotions and noticeable character development that connects at times and shows potential.

In the second disc, the “Strike Out” episode showcases Charlie Brown’s tenacity as well as Lucy’s finest moment as she questions the purpose of jogging. “Trust Me” contains the classic scenario – Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown to kick it. This episode ends with that intelligent, yet heartfelt insecurity from that lovable Charlie Brown.

The animation style resembles a motion comic among a standard panel format, which represents Peanuts franchise well. The Normaal team also utilizes computerized alterations, color additions and other enhancements. The visuals are great with watercolor blends and textures resembling different paper.

The standard definition video presentation looks clear in the 16×9 friendly video presentation in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio of the original TV series broadcast. The Dolby Audio English: 5.1 Surround audio track is very clean as the main dialogue and action goes through the main channel among the multichannel soundtrack. There are English SDH and French subtitle options.

Great nostalgia and original appeal to win new fans while satisfying the core fan base, but extra features on the creative process combined with classic characters and story approach. Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the gang are still going strong after 50 years (the comics still run in U.S. newspapers) with this appealing collection.

At 224 minutes, Peanuts by Schulz: Go Team Go! retails for $18.94 SRP. This new Peanuts series premiered in the U.S. on Boomerang, Cartoon Network’s sister station, in May 2016. Viewers can still view episodes on the Cartoon Network app. Note: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed here. The opinions I share are my own.

Disc #1
No Strings Attached
Snoopy The Superstar
Don’t Worry Charlie Brown
Show Dog
Good Sports
Doing It Right
Like Skates On Ice
Tennis
Even-ing The Score
School Is Out!
Disc #2
Black And White
The Great Outdoors
Strike Out
Autumn Is Here
A Bad Mood
Amateurs
Team Spirit
Trust Me
Creepy Crawlies